#50: Ask Paula – Retirement Savings in Your 50’s, Starting a Side Hustle, Buying Health Insurance, Home Warranties, and More

Mark, a 55-year-old listener, has no savings.

He’s been listening to personal finance podcasts. He recently read Tony Robbins’ Money: Master the Game. He called this podcast to tell us that he’s feeling overwhelmed by the scope of what’s ahead of him. He doesn’t know how to apply this information — and he’s afraid of needing to work in fast food when he’s 80 years old. What can he do?

We tackle his question first on today’s Ask Paula episode.

Next, we take a call from Adalia.

Adalia, another podcast listener, wants to earn extra money on the side. She’s intrigued by the idea of becoming a virtual assistant — a side hustle that allows her to work from home, setting her own hours. How should she start? Where can she find clients?

Tyler, a podcast listener and fellow FinConner, is carrying $20,000 in credit card debt, with interest rates ranging from 11% – 23%. He also runs a side business on Amazon, making 43-50% returns for every dollar he puts in. Should he focus on reinvesting money back into his lucrative business, or should he pay his credit card debt off?

Podcast listener Carlos just purchased his first rental property, and wants to know: are home warranties are worth the money?

Todd, another listener, is curious to know if he and his wife should go without health insurance as the cost of premiums increase. He has an HSA, emergency fund, makes a good living, is in good health, and saves everything he can. Could going without insurance really save him money?

Our last question comes from listener Lynsey, who has her sights set on financial independence. She works a second job during the cold Minnesota winters, which pays $25/hr. However, she wonders if she should use that time to invest in her future earning potential, by starting a business or getting an advanced degree. Should she go after the immediate cash, or focus on her future?

All of these questions are answered in this episode of Ask Paula!

Resources Mentioned:

Episode #28: How I Woke Up, Removed the Blindfold, and Noticed My Money for the First Time – with Evelyn Connors

NYTimes: Christians flock to groups that help members pay medical bills

Enjoy!

— Paula

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I also want to take a moment to thank the sponsor for this episode.

If you’ve been listening for a while, you’ve heard me interview many best-selling authors. Before I interview these guests, I need to read or refresh my memory of their books.

Sitting down to physically read the books can take a long time. That’s why I listen to their audiobooks, thanks to my subscription to an audiobook service called Audible. If you want to give them a try for free, head to audible.com/trynow for a free 30-day trial.

1 Comment

Debi

I listen to your podcasts every week and love your guest interviews. Just a note about your November 7 podcast. You quoted the maximum retirement savings limits for 50+ as $23,000 in a 401k and $6000 in an IRA. The limits are actually $24000 and $6500.